Ross Perot on Environment

1992 & 1996 Reform Party Nominee for President

Mexico provides escape from US environmental regulations

Besides low wages, another attraction for companies to relocate to Mexico is the loose enforcement of its health, safety, and environmental standards. Mexico provides US companies an escape hatch from increasingly expensive US regulations.
For instance, the US General Accounting Office reported to Congress in 1992 that the Mexican government has neither the staff, funds, nor systems it needs to identify the new companies locating there, let alone monitor and enforce its environmental laws.
A survey of six US plants operating in Mexico found that all the plants were operating without the required environmental licenses. This lack of government enforcement is neither unique nor extreme in Mexico.

The futility of he NAFTA side agreements [on labor and environmental standards] is obvious: Mexico already has laws it does not enforce. Why should new environmental regulations assure future compliance?

This planet is our home; protect it for the future

This planet is our home. If we destroy the planet, we’ve destroyed our home. When we think about how to use our natural resources, we have to think ahead 100 years, not just two, five, or ten years. The principles that should guide us will accomplish
protection for our environment while stimulating the growth of our economy:

Conservation makes basic economic sense. Pollution equals waste. Preventing pollution before it happens is cheaper than cleaning it up afterwards.

We should support
business strategies for sustainable economic development and assist local communities in making the transition away from dying industries.